The Road to Birmingham: Class 2A
The road to Birmingham officially tips off Thursday, as 2A wraps up the first day of regional play at Wallace State-Hanceville, Jacksonville State, Alabama State, and Dothan Civic Center.
Class 2A boasts some consistent state tournament contenders with Lanett, Tanner, and LaFayatte still in contention. However, several schools will be looking to up-end these favorites and make their own mark in this year’s march for the blue trophy.
Here’s everything to watch for in each regional heading into the championship run that concludes at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena at the BJCC…
THE MATCHUPS
Central – Alabama State
Calhoun vs. Aliceville
Goshen vs. R.C. Hatch
Northwest – Wallace State-Hanceville
Sheffield vs. Altamont
Tanner vs. Cleveland
South – Dothan Civic Center
Abbeville vs. St. Luke’s
Barbour County vs. Samson
Northeast – Jacksonville State University
Asbury vs. Lanett
Westbrook Christian vs. LaFayette
The 2A state championship game will be Friday, March 3rd at 10:45 A.M.
WHAT 2 WATCH 4
Lanett, AL
Heading into the high school season, many pinned Lanett as the hands down favorite to capture another 2A state title. That may happen in a few weeks, but it isn’t going to be a cake-walk to Birmingham.
As stated above, Lafayette and Tanner have also been consistent teams in regional play over the past few years. Dual-sport athlete Jatarvious Whitlow has had another strong season for Lafayette, pacing his team to yet another playoff appearance. Tanner has been fighting injuries down the home-stretch with star sophomore C.J. Yarbrough sidelined. Nevertheless, the Rattlers can never be counted out as the road to Birmingham develops.
Tanner will match-up with Cleveland in the opening round of the Northwest regional at Wallace State-Hanceville Thursday evening. This is one of the most intriguing games in the classification, as it pits C.J. Yarbrough (if healthy) against Lincoln Memorial signee Khalil Johnson (pictured above). Both forwards have differing styles of play but are the main pieces for each team. Get your popcorn ready, folks! This one could be a doozy. Also in the Northwest regional, Sheffield and Altamont will be a highly contested match.
The South and Central regions could go a number of ways with no teams being able to distance themselves from the back during the season. However, it’s hard to deny teams like R.C. Hatch and St. Luke’s during playoff time.
FINAL FOUR PREDICTIONS
R.C. Hatch, Tanner, St. Luke’s, Lanett
